How do we think the Pistons would be doing against them? The Warriors are playing great, and Detroit would clearly have little chance of stopping Baron, but I don't think they'd be slowing us down much either. No way we'd be sweeping them, but I think we could handle them in 5 or 6. I can't see the Warriors getting the consistent turnovers and crappy 4th quarter execution that have plagued the Mavs if the Warriors were going up against the Pistons instead.

Whatever the reason, the expected league MVP talked Monday about being ready to shrink from the spotlight even more than he already has in Game 5 Tuesday night.

"I got to take what they give me and they don't really give me a lot," said Nowitzki, who is averaging 20 points and has yet to score more than 23. "So I've got to make other stuff happen - help out on defense more; hit the glass harder, as hard as I can, get some extra possessions; if I have a shot, try to knock it down and if I don't, move the ball and let someone else make a shot"...

Coach Avery Johnson was angered by Nowitzki's comments, which are typical of his attitude throughout this series.

"I'm tired of hearing about how they've taken him out of his game and any lack of confidence. You're just not supposed to have that, all right," said Johnson, perhaps the team's most intense player even though he's no longer playing.

"I wasn't the best of players and didn't have the best of skills, but you were not going to shake my confidence. We need all of our players to be confident, to be resilient, to be persistent and that's what I want to see tomorrow. If I don't see it at shootaround, I'm going to be highly upset ... because I need to have it going into that game tomorrow night. We've got to be confident and really sure about what we're doing."

Very true and Steve Nash is the "King of the regular season." I know a lot of us in here have a "hard-on" for this guy that is accumulating an abundance of individual awards. He also has argurably the most talented team on paper. However, can he get it done in the playoffs and actually get to an NBA Finals, remains to be seen.

Two kinds of teams, the kind that make excuses and the kind that execute.

Btw, when Don Nelson left the Mavs, he claimed Cuban owed him money. There is some bad blood here.

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Hey Roscoe, I think this is strictly Nelson vs. Cuban. A little bit of history here. In previous GSW games against Mavs (GSW won all) Nelson says Cuban owes him 6 million and is suing Cuban to get it. And then, at start of season, Cuban wouldnt put up the Division championship banner in first games, but waited until they played GSW. So, it's sticking it more to Cuban, not Avery. Avery, Nellie and Pop all have a good, working-type relationship, so it's easy for them to see how each coach plays, Nellie has the players that Mavs cant match, they are good and he knows how to play them.

I think the psychological effect this has on Kirk is surprising (to all but Avery and Nellie). Remember how he was in a major depression after loss to the Heat and took all summer to get over it? Anyway, if Nellie can pull this off I am sure it will feel better than the 6 million he will probably never get from Cuban

2 years ago, they got beat by the NBA Champs (San Antonio) in the WCF. It went 5 games.

Last year, without Amare, they made it to the WCF again and lost to Dallas in 6.

Top 4, two years in a row is nothing to sneeze at as far as playoff performances. The Pistons only did marginally better.

We're talking about a guy who averaged 20+/10+ (points/assists) in those last two playoff years, shooting 50%+ from the floor, 90%+ from the line and 37%+ from beyond the arc.

Now JWill and Tony Parker both won titles in that period, but can you honestly say you would take either of them over Nash (forget age)?

The dude has been great consistently. With the Mavs looking at an early exit, The Suns really have to worry only about the Spurs in the WCF barring another series upset.

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Ros you make some excellent points in regard to Steve Nash and his statistical prowess. I love Nash he is an unbelievable talent on a great team that everyone loves to watch. I dont think anyone can debate his success and his team's relative success. However, the NBA more than any other league or sport really emphasizes the attainment of a championship to really cement your legacy as a true legendary player. Steve Nash has not even been to an NBA Finals and may never be in his career. Now obviously I think we all agree that he is of a higher calibur than Williams and Parker, there is no debating that. In saying all that there is no reason why he can't at least make it to the Finals once. If he never makes it, it would be very hard for me to put him in the same breath as Isiah, Magic, or even Stockton. To me when you are an elite player what separates you from the other elite players is how well your team does ESPECIALLY in the playoffs.

Also I would have to disagree as far as you stating that our run is marginally better than the Suns. We have been to the Conf. Finals 2 more times, acquired 2 conf. titles and 1 NBA crown. That to me sounds a whole hell of a lot better as far as I'm concerned. If Nash fails again this year to make to the Finals you might as well put him in the same class as a Tracy McGrady. Great player, no real team success. In saying all that I hope he makes it this year but I have to say I doubt it.

Fair enough. I admit that I don't really watch him much. I just assume he is bad because of his size.

No doubt he is blowing away the guard he's playing against overall, but he really should have advanced further into the playoffs. The only reason I can think of, is that his defensive limitations are magnified in the playoff environment.

It's kind of funny that he hasn't even tried to coach defense since... what? his last few years with the Bucks? and suddenly a terrible defensive team during the regular season, and probably the worst defensive personnel he's ever coached, is completely confusing one of the best offenses in the NBA.

(That, and Avery Johnson's crush on Chokehouse, which doesn't seem to be abating no matter how many playoff games he costs them.)